The Healer and the Interrogator
by Stunning Sunset
Summary: After Pein's attack, Konoha is mending, but some people have it harder than others. When Sakura refuses to leave her post at the hospital, endangering her health, the only person they could call in was the only one who would not flinch in front of her.
1. A Headstrong Clash

Alright people, this has been clawing at my head to get out, so here we are. I absolutely love Ibiki/Sakura stories, because those two are just so compatible. Unfortunately, it seems the fandom is very small and not many stories are written bout them. Thus I add my little two cents to the pool. Enjoy.

By the way, I obviously don't own Naruto, so don't sue me, you wouldn't get a cent.

Konoha had been destroyed and, though Pein had resurrected so many people, they had come back to life with the injuries they had sustained at the moment of their death, thus making life very difficult for all medic-nins around. Most of them worked even harder than before, exhausting themselves and only then would they go rest in a tent or one of the few buildings that had been reconstructed by the able-bodied shinobi. However, among those medics, there was one exception: the kunoichi second only to their Hokage, who at this moment in time was still in a coma. The most severe cases were all brought to her and her extreme fatigue was showing in the dark circles that marred her pale skin under her eyes. Even now, they sent ninja on missions to bring back money to rebuild the village, and what was more expensive than A-rank and S-rank missions? It was all good and well, but it was only adding to the pastel-haired kunoichi' workload. And no matter how much she worked, it seemed it never would be enough. Some of her fellow medics had tried to get her to take a rest, to no avail. If she continued to work this much, _she_ would be the one to fall and never wake up; chakra exhaustion was not to be looked down upon, especially when paired with physical exhaustion.

"No one is strong enough to force her to rest," murmured a middle-aged nurse to her companion, a slightly older medic.

"Not that anyone would dare to," added the medic. "She's downright terrifying with her temper and those fists of hers. No one would dare to tell her what to do here, and her friends have already given up. She's way too stubborn."

The ANBU they had been treating listened drowsily to the conversation. If their best medic fell ill because of her foolishness, it would not bode well for the ninja populace that depended on her. But who would dare to confront her? On these thoughts, he fell asleep.

"WHAT?"

The ANBU was grateful that his boss was not angered at him; he would have fled a long time ago if that had been the case. The man's eyes were practically alight with burning fire directly fuelled by his anger. He strode out of the building with long strides, heading for the hospital, his long leather coat flapping in the wind behind him. Left behind, the ANBU could only look at his tall retreating form, so much like a vengeful demon, and hope that the unavoidable collision would not destroy Konoha.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Haruno?" questioned the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Squad as he strode into the room, startling both the pinkette and her patient.

"Excuse me?"

"I said: What do fuck do you think you're doing?" he repeated angrily.

"Obviously I'm doing my job, Morino-san. What about you?" she answered matter-of-factly, if not icily, as she turned to her patient.

"Oh no you aren't," he growled, stalking forward to snatch her clipboard from her hands. "As of now, you're on leave for _at least_ 24 hours, am I clear? I don't want to see your ass in this hospital before that unless it's a matter of life or death and one of my ANBU summons you. Is that clear?"

Not intimidated, she rounded on him, snatching back her clipboard, and snarled, "And just who do you think you are to give me orders around here? You're no medic, Morino-san, so if you're not injured, I want you to get the hell away from this hospital!"

"Gladly! After you!"

"As long as you don't have a valid reason to be here, I won't listen to a word you're saying! This is not your business, Morino-san, so kindly fuck off!" yelled the irate kunoichi.

Gritting his teeth, Ibiki reached in his weapons pouch and took out a kunai, watching her eyes widen nearly imperceptibly, then plunged it deep into his thigh. He felt the blood run down his leg with dark satisfaction.

"Now that I'm injured, I have a reason to be here. Furthermore, the fact that our top medic is ruining her health and may not be of any use when one of my men needs her makes it my business! And don't tell me that this was urgent," he added when he saw she was opening her mouth to protest and pointed at the forgotten patient in bed. "He has a broken leg! Any medic could have taken care of him! You're on leave, Haruno, and that's an order!"

Out of the room, a congregation of medics, nurses and ninja was waiting with baited breath. So far, nothing had been destroyed, which was a good sign, but would it last?

CRASH!

Apparently not.

A nurse opened the door, only to see Sakura twisting and turning in Ibiki's firm hold. She was squished on her stomach on the ground, the scarred man on top of her. At the slight creaking noise that came from the hinges, they looked up at their audience.

"I'll bring her back in no less than 24 hours," growled Ibiki, before managing to do the necessary hand signs to teleport them away.

"What the hell, Morino-san!" exclaimed the furious pastel-haired woman as he released her from his hold.

"Sleep."

Only then did she look at the room she was in. it was not as Spartan as she expected, but it was not luxurious either, which was to be expected, considering the state the village was in. There was a big bed with black sheets and midnight blue covers, a bedside table with a small, functional lamp, and not much else.

Ibiki was halfway across the room when he heard her whisper, "I can't." Turning around, one of his eyebrows lifted in a silent question. She flushed, much to his surprise.

"It's not that I don't want to, you see…I…Thank you for your hospitality, really, but…if I sleep, I'm afraid this will all have been just a dream and I'll wake up and everybody will still be dead, and I can't manage to find sleep, and I'm so tired, and–"

She was cut off when the two same strong arms as before wrapped around her small frame, but this time, they did not try to restrain her. She shuddered slightly before letting her head rest on his chest, eyes closing in defeat, her body becoming limp in his hold. His scent of spices and utter masculinity washed over her, soothing her frayed nerves.

Ibiki, once she had calmed down, took her in his arms and laid her on the bed, still keeping her encased in the safety of his arms. To his surprise, the young kunoichi actually buried deeper in his hold and sighed, features smoothing out. Well, if his presence comforted the medic and helped her sleep, he could afford to give her a few hours' time.

Covered by his long coat, Sakura actually didn't have any problem falling asleep.

However, waking up in the arms of one of the most feared and ruthless ninja the village had to offer was a little bit more stressful.

So, what do you say? Worth reading? Thanks for reading. I hope you'll stay for the rest of the story! (Oh yes, more goodness to come!)


	2. Sushi

So it's been a week since I've posted this. I swear, I just have too much fun writing this. I'm so happy you guys like this story, it makes me happy and even amazed to see how many people are fans of this pairing. I shall try not to disappoint you. Those of you I have successfully converted to this pairing, welcome back.

"It doesn't make you look any tougher, you know," came a deep baritone from behind her.

Twirling around, the young medic looked reproachfully to the man leaning against the doorframe casually, arms crossed over his chest doing nothing to hide his muscles. His mesh shirt actually emphasized his toned chest and his pants, if she dared admit it to herself, showed off his amazing arse. What a specimen of man.

"I know," she replied, taking a roll of gauze from a cupboard. "But I happen to look good in it and, while it does look good on you, you look awesome without it. Have you seen the number of stares you attract from my female coworkers these days?" she retorted, eyebrow raised.

He chuckled deeply.

"Besides, while it doesn't replace you, it's better than nothing and it helps me sleep, so you won't take it away from me, right?" she asked with brilliant emerald puppy eyes.

He looked at her impassively.

"You're still better off in a white coat than my black leather coat," he replied, though he couldn't help but feel content that at least the fact that it was _his_ coat that she looked amazing in deterred most men from approaching her. "You're supposed to be an angel of life, not of death."

"Mhm," she hummed. "Anyway, what did you come for? If it's your coat, I can give it back to you–"

"Keep it. And if it weren't for me, you never would eat, would you? Come on, we're having dinner now, so leave your rolls of bandages, they'll still be there when you come back."

Looking at the duo walk off into the sunlit street, many nurses sighed.

"If it weren't for Morino-sama, who knows what would have become of her?"

"She always waits for him to come pick her up to eat. I even heard that she makes him a bento when he warns her that he won't be able to pick her up."

"What an unusual friendship," commented a third nurse. "They're so…different! He's all dark and scary and Haruno-sama is so light and happy!"

"You're new, aren't you?" noted a medic. "If not, you would've known that before Morino-sama forcefully pulled her out of her workaholic tendencies, she was unhappy and everything."

"Hey, you think they're sleeping together?"

They took a seat in one of their usual restaurants, sitting in a booth in the back that gave Ibiki a perfect view of the whole room. She didn't bother to sit next to him, knowing that if ever there was any danger, he would warn her beforehand and protect her if necessary.

Nowadays, people were used to them walking to a restaurant at noon, her often almost skipping a foot or two in front of him as he watched her with his black eyes. However, being used to it didn't mean they understood it, but no one dared to ask them, either one being quite frightening in their own respect.

They ordered the usual, a large plate of various sushi accompanied with green tea, and lapsed into a comfortable silence occasionally punctuated by small conversation.

"I would have eaten even if you hadn't come for me," remarked Sakura as she took a tuna nigiri.

"Sure you would have," replied the imposing man. "Do remind me why you were still at work instead of filling your empty stomach. Or is it that you were waiting for me?"

"Git," she muttered under her breath, wanting nothing more than to wipe his damn smirk off his face. Her eyes widened as he reached for a sashimi. "Hey! Don't take that! It's mine!"

He quirked an eyebrow, his chopsticks firmly holding the morsel.

"Grow up, Haruno."

"Don't take that condescending tone with me!" snapped Sakura as she swung her chopsticks at his to dislodge them. Unfortunately, he had anticipated the move and snapped her chopsticks away. A chopsticks war ensued, neither one backing down as they snapped, twirled and swept around and above the coveted piece of rice and fish.

"You sure are competitive over a simple piece of sushi," remarked Ibiki in his dry tone.

"Of course! That's the last salmon sashimi, and you know it full well, you smug bastard," raged the woman, her eyes full of fire.

Suddenly, lifted by a sharp movement, the morsel swept through the air.

"You should get angry more often," said Ibiki, pinning her in place where she was, halfway off her seat and over the table, like him, with his dark gaze. "It makes you look like a wildcat."

So fast she couldn't stop him and before she could retort, he snaked a hand behind her head and brought her head to him, planting his lips over hers in a dominating alpha-male movement. Her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates.

He calmly sat back down, bringing to his mouth the salmon sashimi that he had caught in midair while distracting her.

"Delicious," he growled darkly, making her face flush. Was he talking about the sushi or her lips? She couldn't be sure, but his tone sent a flash of heat coursing through her body.

"That was sneaky," she reproached him when she sat down and regained her wits.

"I'm a shinobi," he answered matter-of-factly. The fact that it actually made sense was infuriating.

"Next time, I'll just stick my chopsticks in your arm," she muttered mock-angrily as she watched him swallow the salmon sashimi.

He rolled his eyes.

"One more scar won't hurt me, Haruno," he told her.

She sniffed at him, choosing not to dignify him with a retort. She picked a sea urchin nigiri deliberately, knowing it was his favourite, and gobbled the sushi, watching in satisfaction as he frowned minutely.

"Just so you know, you'd better be paying, or the next time you go to the hospital after a mission, I'll carve my name on your ass."

He chuckled warmly.

The sight of the two ninja at the civilian restaurant was not new, but it was slightly disturbing. The older, scarred shinobi was always accompanied by the young, beautiful kunoichi. New patrons always face-planted at that, wondering what such a sweet, innocent-looking young woman could find in a brute like him. However, after observing the pair, they never failed to realize that her temper matched his and that she was just as dangerous as him, if not more because nobody expected a pink-haired lady to be potentially lethal. As they left the restaurant together, many sighed in relief as no damage was caused by the dangerous pair, other than mild psychological shock in sensitive people.

Well, I await your reviews.


	3. Interrogation à la Sakura

Sorry for the long wait, life happened, with a few bad things that happened to me. I was really not in the mood to write something light and fun after my best friend flushed me out of her life, but I think I'm well enough now to attempt to write something for you guys. Tell me what you think.

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"Here you go, all better!" Sakura chirped happily as she rolled what was left of the bandages and put them away. "Be sure not to put strain on that arm and come back tomorrow so I can finish healing it. I would do it now, but it wouldn't be good on your body. And no missions for you for at least three days, understand?"

The jounin smiled and nodded.

"Alright," said the kunoichi with a decisive nod, "would eight o'clock in the morning be alright?"

"Hai, Haruno-san. I'll be there."

Sakura quickly scribbled something in her notepad, happy that he was not as difficult as Kakashi when it came to making him go to the hospital to check his injuries.

"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow, Kuroda-san."

As the man left the white and sterile room, the pink-haired young woman ran a hand through her hair, feeling the strain of the day weighing heavily on her shoulders. What she wouldn't give to curl up on her bed and sleep the rest of the day away. With a sigh, she looked at the clock on the wall. Blinked. Looked again. Was it already this late? She looked out of the window, spotting the sun immediately. Yeah, it really _was_ this late. Normally, it wouldn't have fazed her, but Ibiki had said he would pick her up to eat at her favourite restaurant and she was quite impatient. And he was late. He could have warned her, sent someone or something, but no, nada, nothing! She glared at her grumbling stomach as it made itself known.

_Food, food, food_, she chanted internally as she made her way across the village, making a bee-line for the ANBU headquarters where she was sure to find the dark and broody Head of the Torture and Interrogation Squad.

The ANBU guard at the entrance took one look at her and sighed mentally. Trouble was coming, he was sure of it.

"Tora-san!" chirped said troublemaker happily. "Have you seen Ibiki-san recently? I'm looking for him, you see."

Said ANBU shook his head.

"He entered the building this morning but did not leave it."

"Ah. So he must still be with one of his prisoners. Well, thanks, I'll go see him now!"

The pink-haired woman nearly skipped in the building, leaving behind a man who could not help but feel sorry for the prisoner Ibiki was currently interrogating. Underneath the innocent façade the Hokage's apprentice wore hid a woman who could be more dangerous than most of the people he knew.

Ibiki looked up when the door to the interrogation room he was in opened, as did his prisoner. There on the doorstep stood someone who looked singularly out of place in this dark universe. The woman was dressed in white and had pink hair. And, of all things, she was _smiling innocently and genuinely_. It looked so out of place, in fact, that for a moment, all he could do was blink.

"There you are! You're late, you know? Oh, and I want pork chops today, so we're going at that barbecue place Chouji told me about."

"Haruno," he growled, aggravated. "_What_ are you doing here?"

The urge to pinch his nose was so strong he had to fight his body not to do it.

And then she cocked her head to the side, adding to her innocent look.

"Well, I'm coming to get you, of course, since you're so late. Go and get the grime out of your hands and boots, ne? Shoo, shoo."

She even had the gall to add shooing motions with her hands, as though she was not speaking to the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Squad and he was not in a torture chamber next to a man who looked like he had run into a train.

"Haruno," he growled once again, "I'm not finished here."

Only then did she give a cursory glance to his prisoner. She even looked disinterested. And the blood didn't so much as make her bat a lash.

"Oh. Well, if that's everything, I can take care of that for you while you clean up. What do you want to know?"

Ibiki considered her for a moment with a critical eye.

"I want the name of his boss. You have five minutes."

Her green eyes lit up with happiness.

"Yay! Hey, before you go, you think you could lend me your coat? I think it would make me look more threatening, you know."

This time, Ibiki cocked an eyebrow. With a smirk etched on his scarred face, he shrugged out of the heavy leather coat and handed it to her as he walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Sakura twirled around to face the bound man sitting on a chair in the middle of the room.

"Soooo…We're all alone now. Want to tell me the name of your boss?"

The man only looked at her blankly. Was she really that stupid? She couldn't _really_ expect him to spill it out that easily, did she? He took one more look at her open and expectant face. It looked like she did.

Her face fell when he snorted and turned his head away disdainfully.

"You won't? Awwww…I thought I should at least try to be nice, but I can channel my inner Ibiki too, you know?"

And suddenly, her face split into a sinister smile, changing her naive countenance into that of a sadistic demon thirsting for blood.

"Let's go for the hard way, shall we," she asked rhetorically, approaching him with the feline grace of a predator stalking its prey. "I'm a master at genjutsu, which means that I could have you screaming and begging for your life as you feel your heart being dug out of your chest and squeezed. While you would still live, of course. Or I could go with the old classical torture thingy and peel layers of skin out of back and make you eat them," she continued, counting on her fingers. "I would of course make sure that you stay awake. You know, we medic-nin are very good at torturing people, though we seldom indulge ourselves, because we know exactly how the human body works. Which means I could amplify your pain, if you see what I mean?"

She lightly touched his shoulder, and he suddenly found himself screaming at the white-hot sensation that erupted from that single point on his body. He felt his flesh sizzling and burning, but when he looked at it, he was forced to admit that it was devoid of any mark. Panting, he found himself face to face with his new tormentor as she grasped his chin roughly.

"Of course, being a top medic, I can heal you as many times as I want to. Hell, I could burn your entrails in front of you and make you watch or separate you limb from limb and then reattach them. It hurts like hell, you know, so many muscles to tear and destroy… But I digress. Maybe I should go with humiliation. Most people dislike being humiliated, even when there's no one else but them who know it. I wonder if Ibiki-san stores an enema around here…If he hasn't got any, I'm sure Anko-san would be more than willing to lend me the one she usually uses on her prisoners. She once told me that if you leave it long enough, even a man can look like an expecting woman. Should we try it? Wanna look like a pregnant woman? I'm sure it would suit you."

She looked at him, a hand stroking her chin thoughtfully, and he felt cold sweat run down his back at the look. She looked like a scientist appraising a lab rat. And he was not thrilled to find himself the lab rat in this case. And then a look of illumination lit her face like she had suddenly found the answer to the universe–or like she was a kid and he was a cookie jar. He did not know which one was more disturbing.

"I _know_ what I should do! I'll transform you into a girl! It'll give me a good opportunity to manipulate a human body, and if I make any error, no one's gonna chew my head off for it. It's so hard to find willing participants these days, you know…I'm so happy to have you! Anyway, I have nothing here to anesthetise you, but even if I did, Ibiki-san would not want me to use it, you know? 'Cause you're a prisoner and all that. But don't worry, I can form scalpels with my chakra, so I'll be able to cut you open anyway! I'm _so_ happy you refused to talk! A living lab rat, how lucky am I?"

She hummed happily under her breath as she disappeared out of his field view. He heard her rummage behind him and then wheels squeaked on the cold stone floor as she approached a metal table with straps and left it ominously in front of him. He tensed in his bindings. She would not really do it, would she?

The pink-haired woman reached behind him and he felt a shock at the base of his spine. With heartfelt terror, he found that his limbs escaped from his control.

"That way," explained Sakura as she untied the man, "you won't be able to move when I operate on you. Think of it as anaesthesia without the unconscious part. There you go. Let me just get you rid of those annoying clothes that are in the way, and then we'll begin."

She strapped him, naked as the day he was born, on the cold metal table and stepped back to admire her work. She snapped her fingers and pushed a little chakra on his jaw.

"Alright. You should be able to speak now. So you'll be able to tell me your last impressions as a man. After that, I'll freeze your jaw again so you can't bit your tongue off. So, how is it? What are you experiencing right now?" she asked eagerly, her green eyes scrutinizing him above her notepad, hand at the ready to jot down everything he felt.

Desperation coursed through him, making his heart thump loudly in his ears.

"Don't! Please don't! My boss' name is Kagawa Touya, now please unbind me! I'll tell you everything, anything, but please don't touch me!"

Ibiki entered the interrogation room and his eyebrows shot up as high as they could go when he saw Sakura looming above the prisoner, said prisoner being strapped naked to what looked like an autopsy table. And who looked like he was utterly terrified of her. At his entrance, her face radiated happiness.

"I've got your name, so can we go now? I _really_ want to eat my pork chops!"

As they stepped out of the building, he couldn't help but ask: "That was quick. What did you do?"

At which point she shrugged and answered, "Well, I was just about to operate on him–without anaesthesia and painkillers, of course–to turn him into a girl. Experience tells me that most men do not take a threat to their manhood lightly. And, of course, fear of the pain is often greater than the pain itself, so I bet on that and won, obviously. Aren't you just proud of me?" she finished with a radiant smile, taking no notice of the ANBU guard who shuddered imperceptibly as they left the building.

He could not help but chuckle warmly, if not a little darkly.

"That I am, woman, that I am."

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I hope that satisfied you. I've been told that their relationship moves really quickly. To that, I answer: they are not yet lovers, just good friends, and this is more significant moments about their lives than day 1-day 2-day 3, etc. But there will be a time when I follow this pattern more closely. For now, tell me, how did you start reading this story? Because you knew me as an author and decided to try this story, because you were already a fan of this pairing, or something else? I'm curious.


	4. Scars, Old and New

This is darker than usual and less humorous, but more action. I hope it'll balance things.

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Sakura laced her open-toed sandals up, paying no heed to the man leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.

"Are you gonna say anything?" she asked at long last, tired of the silence.

"Should I?" he countered.

She stood up and regarded him silently.

"Naruto already talked my ears off about going on a mission without him."

He straightened and gave her a piercing gaze.

"You and I both know that he still perceives you as the weak girl you were when you got put together on Team 7. And if you still were that girl, you never would have been picked for that mission."

A sincere smile dawned on her youthful face.

"Thanks, it means a lot, coming from you."

The other nin nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Nevertheless, I have chosen some of my best men to accompany you. They will go with you as far as they can, but you'll have to actually do the mission alone."

Sakura nodded, knowing that the ANBU members could not go in the country because of the political tension at present. Fortunately, she was not ANBU, thus the reason she had been chosen, as the mission required the best medic-nin available.

"I know. I hadn't expected otherwise. Besides, I can take care of myself."

Ibiki nodded and retried a scroll from an inner pocket of his coat. He handed it to her, explaining, at her puzzled look, "It's a scroll that you are to use only in case of an emergency. You open it and smear some blood across it with some of your chakra, and your coordinates and name will appear on the big scroll tacked to the wall of the ANBU headquarters mission room. It's used by ANBU operatives to indicate their last known location. That way, we can send an emergency team much more rapidly and efficiently. It's standard equipment. If you use it and I find your carcass at the other end, I swear I'll kick your ass, Haruno."

Sakura smiled, just a slight upturn of lips that lightened her eyes.

"Alright. Put a bottle of sake aside for me when I get back and I'll take you up on that."

The ANBU operatives that were to accompany the pastel-haired kunoichi were given a very stern glare over said kunoichi's head, one that clearly indicated, "Anything happens to her on your watch and you're dead meat." The message was crystal clear.

Yet for all one can plan, there is always the possibility that something will go wrong. Plans are like well-oiled machines. One grain of sand may be enough to incapacitate it completely.

Sakura winced internally as her movements jarred her injury, the jagged wound in her side steadily pouring blood down her abdomen. Yet, she could not afford to stop running and heal herself and the bundle of cloth in her arms was her utmost priority. From the bundle, twin dark eyes looked up at her, searching her face for something, anything, that could hint at their situation.

"Kunoichi-san, are they still behind us?"

The young woman didn't look down at the child but still answered positively.

"Hai, they are, and I don't think I'll be able to fend them off with you to protect as well, but don't worry, I won't let them get you. You're going to be fine."

She reached in her weapons pouch and closed her hand around the scroll Ibiki had given her.

"I'm going to lure those guys away from you, alright? I'm a master at genjutsu, so it should be a while before they realize you're not actually with me. I'll put you under a genjutsu that will hide your scent and any trace of your existence and I'll leave a shadow clone with you. It will protect you if necessary and will disappear only if it's injured or if I die. As soon as I leave you, open the scroll and put a bit of your blood and charka on it. It will warn Konoha's ANBU of your location and they will come retrieve you. Be strong."

She jumped down and crouched at the foot of a big tree. Using a chakra scalpel, she cut a hole in the trunk and placed the child in it, before sealing it shut with her medical chakra, leaving only a little hole to provide air. She put layers of genjutsu on it and, once she was sure it was undetectable, she took off, leaving behind a genjutsued shadow clone to protect the young noble. Now, she only had to make their pursuers trail her far enough away from the child's hiding spot that she would be able to fight them without worrying for the kid.

Ibiki was reading Anko's report about the information a prisoner had given up after a session with her when a male ANBU knocked at his door, entering a moment later.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly, unhappy to have been distracted from the report.

"Someone used an emergency report scroll, Morino-sama, but it's not anyone we recognize. We thought you would have an idea."

Brows furrowing, Ibiki stood up and followed the shinobi, questions coursing through his head. Anko, curious and anxious, was striding next to him, the usual crazy smile she reserved for prisoners gone from her face and a serious look replacing it. ANBU were close-knit, like a big family, and if one of them was in trouble, there was always a bunch of them volunteering to help. The scroll that identified emergencies was thus very closely watched. However, an unknown name appearing on it was not expected. Ibiki would know who it was for sure; he always knew where his teams were. He would be able to identify the oddity.

The three strode into the mission room. Immediately, the ANBU members in it that had been wondering about the unknown name in buzzing chatter quieted down and observed their commander openly. The tall man stopped in front of the scroll, observed it, brows furrowing even more, and turned around, eyes blazing, barking, "Mitarashi, you come with me. Tanabata-san and Kuroda-san, you too. Someone warn the Hokage that I'm getting her foolish apprentice back!"

The crowd dispersed as soon as the dangerous commander had left, followed by Anko, the long-haired Tanabata, a female with dark green hair, and the quiet, bulky Kuroda, an impressive man sporting cropped midnight blue hair. All in all, Ibiki had taken with him some of the most ruthless ninja the ANBU headquarters had to offer. Whoever had hurt the much-appreciated pinkette was going to suffer.

Rain and wind pelted their bodies, but despite their tired state, they would not stop until they got their comrade back. At the designated place, they found a frightened child who answered to the name of Minami Kenta, the very same name that had appeared on their scroll in Konoha. Protecting him was a shadow clone of Sakura. It was a testament to the medic-nin's skills at genjutsu that without the precise coordinates to guide them, they would have bypassed the hiding spot completely. However, the lack of said medic-nin added a tense weariness to the group. Not to mention it had been a while since the child had been left in his hiding place. Fortunately, when Sakura had escaped with the kidnapped noble child, she had healed his injuries, and he was merely suffering from mild dehydration and hunger.

Looking at their commander's tense back, the ANBU operatives could only think that they had to get the pink-haired woman soon or suffer the consequences.

"Tanabata-san, return to Konoha with the child. Check him in the hospital and make sure he stays there until his family comes for him. Everyone else, follow me."

Anko, the quiet Kuroda and Sakura's clone followed him as he ran ahead, already tracking the Hokage's apprentice.

Sakura's eyes slid in and out of focus. Pain and exhaustion made the world blur around her, but she forced her senses to remain sharp by sheer strength of will. She would have to thank Kakashi for drilling that into her. If she ever saw him again.

Her right arm hung limply at her side, useless. The blade her last opponent had used was covered in poison that was blocking her chakra slowly, and the more she moved, the more it took over her body as her heart pumped it in her system. Her only regret was that she would not be able to drink that bottle of sake with Ibiki. Hopefully, he would not resent her too much for that.

Her head fell back against the boulder she was propped up against. Before she died, she would get the bastard who had poisoned her. She reached into her weapons bag and threw her last exploding tag a bit to her left. With the way she had destroyed the area, which was already pretty rocky in the first place, when he tripped one of her exploding tags, everything would blow up in his face. But she wanted to get him herself, so she would not wait for the trap to catch him first. After all, she knew he was somewhat to her left, very near the exploding tag she had thrown.

Her left hand trembled as it formed a one-handed seal.

"Sayonara, teme. Kai!"

And as everything blew up into flames and shrapnel around her, the young woman closed her eyes with a sweet smile on her face.

In the distance, an explosion rocked the ground they were running on, unmistakable.

_Kami, let her be alive…_

Sakura's clone flickered out of existence; dread poled in their stomachs.

They found the young woman's body near her opponent's battered and bloody one, both of them having various types of rock shrapnel and wood splinters ornamenting their corpses.

Letting his subordinates check the enemy ninja, Ibiki crouched next to Sakura, feeling something suspiciously akin to despair clench his insides.

"Damn you, you weren't supposed to die! I won't accept it!" he yelled at her broken body.

Bending, he pressed his lips to her chapped ones and breathed into her. If there was a time CPR had to work, it was now. Konoha could not afford to lose her, he reminded himself. No, Konoha really could not lose her. Konoha needed her, Konoha needed her…

Chakra. He remembered the girl telling him one day that a strong jolt of chakra to the heart could stop it or restart it.

"You'd better have been right about this, Haruno," he growled as he put his hand on her chest and sent his chakra into her heart.

Her chest lifted off the ground and fell back. No movement. But still, to be sure, Ibiki pressed two fingers to her jugular and checked for any signs of breathing.

There! Feeble, but it was a heartbeat for sure.

"Hang on, girl, I'm getting you back to Konoha and Tsunade-sama's gonna heal you up before you know it. Never you fear."

Anko informed him that the man was dead and received a nod, followed by a "We're going home" from her usually unreadable commander.

Her eyes cracked open painfully. In fact, everything was painful. Living seemed to be the most difficult thing she had ever done. Still, she looked down at her body. It took a couple of second for her to realize that her arms, atop the covers, were completely covered with bandages, and looking at how she felt, it was probably safe to think that the rest of her body was bandaged up, too.

Fabric moved to her left, causing her to wince as her head turned automatically to find the source of the noise.

"How do you feel?" asked the leather-clad imposing Head of the Torture and Interrogation Department in his low voice.

"Like I died and was yanked back to my body by force," she answered as dryly as her throat felt.

The tall man stepped away from the window, making her think of a demon, what with the way his coat swirled behind him–she was _definitely_ more tired than she thought she was–and chuckled.

"That's pretty much what happened, yeah. I couldn't drink that bottle of sake alone, now, could I?"

She smiled, even the slight movement making her hurt, and replied, "I would laugh at that, but I don't think that would be wise at the moment."

He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her after helping her sit up in bed with gigantic pillows at her back. She sipped it thankfully and asked, "What about the kid? Is he alright?"

"Yeah. As opposed to you, he was only mildly dehydrated when we found him and he devoured three plates of food before he was satisfied, but there were no dangerous injuries."

Sakura glanced at her bandaged hands.

"How bad was it?"

"You were in bad shape when I got you back. Shrapnel isn't merciful. Tsunade-sama healed you, along with several others, but you'll remain scarred."

She thanked him mentally. He was blunt and to the point, but that was exactly what she needed. Someone who would beat around the bush to spare her feelings would only have aggravated her more. Besides, she was a kunoichi. She had accepted long ago that her body would bear scars, even if she had not expected that many.

"Well, I guess I won't have to beat guys away with a stick anymore, eh? Guys generally don't dig women with skin like patchwork," she commented detachedly.

Ibiki shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I have scars myself, so I never really minded, but I suppose civilians would not find that attractive. They just don't see that it's a testament to your strength if you've got scars. Those who don't have any never go on difficult missions. Those who do and don't die unmistakably come back with more scars."

Sakura smiled widely.

"Good thing I don't mind scars, then, ne?"

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Wow, this last scene was hard to write. I wanted their scars to bring them closer to each other without being mushy, but you tell me how well I managed to do that.


	5. Of Deals and Rumours

You know, I had absolutely no idea what I would write until inspiration hit me hard this morning. And then I began to write this baby. Hope you enjoy! (By the way, I've noticed that even when I had more spaces between the scenes, they don't show on FF. I'm gonna try to remedy to that.)

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Training grounds 46. 6:30 AM. Birds could be heard chirping in the distance–in the distance, mind you, because the tension and killer intent rolling off of a certain kunoichi had made all of the birds near either shut up in fear of their lives or fly away, still in fear of their lives.

"No."

"Haruno, I didn't even say anything yet."

Sakura shook her head angrily.

"You don't have to, I already know what you want to ask me, and my answer remains. Even if you send some of your men to harass me at the hospital _again_."

She pulled on her gloves and cracked her knuckles.

"I won't transfer to your unit. I'm a medic-nin, not an interrogator. Ask Ino-Pig if you want a new kunoichi on your team. She's got the necessary techniques, doesn't she?"

Ibiki hmmed calmly.

"She does, and Inoichi-san _is_ a successful interrogator, but it's not her calling like it is yours."

The young woman looked at him bemusedly, arms crossed over her chest.

"Maybe I should rush you to the hospital. Your fever must be quite high if your delusions have reached that stage. Have you begun hallucinating too?" she asked him tartly.

Ibiki let out a breath slowly.

"Haruno, the news of your success when you interrogated that prisoner have already propagated quite far. You have quite a reputation now."

In a casual movement, he tossed her a book that she caught more by ingrained reflex than by conscious movement. That was news to her.

"A Bingo book? What–"

"Just open it, Haruno."

With a huff, she did as she was told and flipped the pages, backtracking after seeing a flash of pink. Sure enough, her face was displayed on a page that she scanned rapidly, her eyes widening.

"Innocent appearance but very dangerous. Type: close-range medic-nin. Excellent skills at genjutsu and healing, enormous strength, master interrogator?"

She whirled around, eyes burning.

"Who the fuck is a master interrogator? How did that appear in the Bingo book?"

She scrutinized Ibiki's face for a long while, her ire mounting at his impassive features.

"Nothing spread faster than rumours through the ninja grapevine."

"Damnit!" she cursed. She really needed to vent her anger on something at the moment.

As though sensing this, Ibiki offered to make a deal.

"Let's spar, Haruno. If I win, you join my team occasionally, when I need you. If you win, I'll discover who let it slip that you were good at interrogation and I'll even deliver them to you so you can use them as a punching bag."

After a tense moment, Sakura nodded stiffly.

"Alright. You got yourself a deal."

And she attacked. He had to bend backward to escape her flying kick, knowing getting hit by the chakra-enhanced foot would have broken some of his ribs. He continued on his momentum, his own foot catching her in the back, propelling her forward. As he got up, she twirled in the air, throwing a few kunai before landing in a crouch. She hadn't expected the weapons to actually hit, and they didn't, but they bought her enough time to ram her foot in the ground.

The earth cracked; the tremors caused him to shake and he almost lost his footing, but he recovered fast enough to jump back several feet and evade a damaging punch. His hands flew into motions, running through the seals and just as Sakura ran to him, fist poised for another punch, she was hit by a wall of earth.

Feeling as though she had just run into a cement wall, Sakura shook her dizzy head and instinctually parried a kick. Her fingers grabbed his ankle and she threw his off with her gigantic strength, sending him crashing into a tree. As he regained his bearing, wincing, she sent an exploding tag at the trunk.

Forced to escape or suffer the consequences, Ibiki threw back at her a volley of shuriken, followed by a group of flaming balls of earth. Sakura didn't even try to evade them, but ran at him, punching through every ball that impaired her speed. She launched herself at him, trading blow for blow in a dangerous dance that, even after a few hours, remained just as quick and lethal.

Finally, sweating, she pulled back and caught the tall man in a genjutsu. Knowing it wouldn't be long until he got rid of it, she ran at him once more and tackled him to the ground just as he stabbed his thigh with a kunai.

Panting, both of them looked at each other and the pinkette slowly removed her kunai from his neck. Her grip loosened and the weapon clattered on the ground next to them, forgotten. Torturously slow, Sakura approached him, her face creeping closer and closer to his until finally, their lips touched just barely, sweet and soft. They melded together, lips moving languorously, bodies flush against each other, their every forms and contours becoming one as he pulled her closer still to him. And then pain flared in Ibiki's mind and he clamped down hard on Sakura's lower lip, tasting the tang of her blood flow onto his tongue. As they jerked back, Ibiki's hands coming to rest on Sakura's hips, their eyes sought the bloody kunai that Sakura held in her hand. The blade bled crimson, drops of the viscous liquid dripping on Ibiki's chest; he growled darkly.

"You could have warned me that you were about to yank it out of my thigh," he accused in his dark bass voice.

Relief came in the form of her chakra rapidly repairing his thigh, but the blood had already stained his pants and was making its way south. He should have let his leg lie on the ground instead of bending his knee in preparation to push off once he was down.

"That was just payback," replied Sakura. "And since I won, I expect to have those gossipers bound on my desk in no more than a week."

A growl was trapped in Ibiki's chest as he rumbled, "I'm a man of my word. And now, it's your turn to give me what you kept from me."

A pink eyebrow rose at that.

"Kept from you? Are you pissy because you lost or something?"

He smiled darkly, sending shivers of anticipation down her spine.

"Iie. That kiss that you never finished. I can win some other time," he growled in a mixture of lust and anticipation as he roughly grabbed the back of her head and yanked her down to meet his lips heatedly in a crash of animalistic pleasure.

An ANBU team happened upon the scene, causing everyone to shake their head and retract. No one wanted to disrupt those two unless it was a matter of life and death. They had a feeling that things would be quite explosive if they did not tread with caution. So, as silently as they came, they backtracked, hoping the two had not sensed them.

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Short, I know, but I really wanted to do this one scene alone and not make it part of some bigger event. Still, I hope you like how things are progressing. By the way, I'll probably update next week, but not the one after that (no computer=no update) and then updates probably be more erratic. But don't worry, I have this all planned out and unless some bigger plot suddenly crashes upon me, this story will not be longer than 20 chapters, possibly less. Anyway, review, people!


	6. Festival

Alright, just to be sure everyone is on the same page, this story is comprised of various defining moments in Ibiki and Sakura's relationship and spans over months, not days or weeks. Thank you, feel free to read the story now.

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Two figures moved with the unnatural grace associated with ninja, occasionally drawing stares from the civilian populace. The two, despite the festive atmosphere, were not interested in the least in the festival going on around them.

"I clearly remember objecting to wearing a kimono," grouched Sakura as she glared at anyone wearing a yukata. "They're so impractical. If I have to fight, I'll only be hindered."

Next to her, Ibiki, fortunately still wearing his usual coat, rolled his eyes.

"We're not here to fight," he replied tartly, "but," he cut off her angry rebuttal, "if we ever have to fight, I'll take on our attackers, distracting them long enough to let you shimmy out of that yukata. And don't look at me like that. I _know_ the number of hidden weapons on that concealed battle-clad body of yours makes you more poisonous than a snake."

Sakura snorted.

"And you're in a yukata because as an ambassador from Konoha, it would have been rude of you to refuse it," continued the tall man.

"Yeah, right. I should have pulled a Tsunade on that lord's ass. Hey, as an ambassador, I harness the Hokage's power, right? So if I order you, as my bodyguard, to rip his eyes out for…say…visual molestation, you'll have to do it, ne?"

Ibiki snorted in turn.

"Haruno, you're here as a diplomat, and having a _diplomat_ order her bodyguard to rip out the eyes of her host would most definitely _not_ be diplomatic."

Sakura grumbled some more, her dark gaze making people swerve to avoid encountering her and her intimidating escort.

"I knew I should have asked the ANBU instead…" she murmured, fully aware that a group of Konoha ANBU was following them to ensure her safety from afar.

Ibiki chuckled darkly.

"Like they would do that. We're here to prevent bad relations with this country, not to start a war."

Sakura pouted.

"Come on! He was treating me like I was nothing more than a doll! And the way he looked at my scars…that creepy look in his eyes…ugh!"

While she vented her anger, Ibiki did nothing–except scaring off some adventurous guys looking for a lay in the hay with a kunoichi–saying only, once she had calmed down, "While I can't maim him, I can make sure he never looks at you that way again."

Sakura stopped walking suddenly, his offer drowning the sounds of the festival going on around her. Her eyes sparkled happily as the biggest smile he had ever seen bloomed on her face.

"Really? Sugoi…You're the best!"

And the event was forgotten as she took his hand and pulled him behind her to a booth, fully intent on enjoying the nice night out.

-:-

By the end of the night, right before the fireworks show, the lord of the place, an overweight man with a piggy complexion, managed to find the two ninja as they were sitting on a bench under a sakura tree, calmly eating dango and observing the people flooding the streets to get to the best place to view the fireworks.

"Ah, here you are, Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed jovially, eyes fixed solely on the pinkette who had to refrain from grimacing. "Come with me, I have a VIP seat waiting just for you! The fireworks this year should be amazing, let me tell you! And after the fireworks, I will show you the rooms I have had prepared for you, hm?"

Before the annoyed kunoichi could answer, her appointed bodyguard stood up, towering over the brightly-dressed lord, and advised him calmly but firmly to let Sakura enjoy the festival as she wished.

"You impudent peasant, how dare you talk to me?" exclaimed the pudgy lord, outraged. "I only tolerate your presence because you're Sakura-chan's bodyguard! Remember that I can have you thrown out anytime I want!"

Ibiki looked with a blank face at the other man's, mentally noting how it was becoming redder and redder the longer he stayed silent. Finally, when the fat man became a particularly unattractive shade of crimson, he casually dropped: "Based on what reasons? Actually acting like a bodyguard and safeguarding my village's ambassador's body, peace of mind and _virtue_?"

The lord spluttered angrily, spit flying, but Ibiki was not finished.

"I'm sure that would go over well, Toriyama-dono."

Sakura, who had listened to the argument, giggled softly, only loud enough for Ibiki to perceive. Depositing the plate of dango next to her on the bench, she stood up graciously and put her hand on Ibiki's arm, directing her words to him.

"You did well to protect me, Morino-san. Thanks to you, I am safe _in my entirety_. Now, Toriyama-dono, do remember to address me with respect, as I am not only Konoha's ambassador, but also a powerful kunoichi and the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage, who views me as a daughter. I'm sure you would not want to be exposed to her fists, should I let slip what happened tonight. But you are right on one point. I would like to see the fireworks from the best vantage point possible, so I'll be scaling that tall building over there with Morino-san. Shall we get going?"

Ibiki nodded, sending a dark smile at the defeated lord while she gathered the plate of dango, and the two ninja left together, Sakura's hair ornaments catching the light of the nearby lanterns in pretty iridescent colours.

The lord noted with jealousy how close the two stayed together. The tall man's presence alone was enough to make the crowd part for them, so he certainly did not have to remain so close to the kunoichi, yet he remained at her side in a protective and nearly possessive manner. The only thing he could have done to be more obvious that she was out of bounds would be to have taken her by the waist and snogged her senseless in front of everyone.

"If he tries to annoy me again," began Sakura in a clear voice in an even clearer warning, "I'll trap him in a genjutsu, lord or not, and I don't care if he looks like a fool in front of everyone."

The low rumble of laughter coming from the man sent shivers of fear running down Toriyama's spine.

"You do that, but warn me beforehand so I can reserve a seat."

A chuckle from the pink-haired woman.

"Deal."

-:-

The next day, Sakura wandered through the town, Ibiki in tow, casually observing the remains of the festival. Now that it was over, the stalls were being taken down and the merchants were preparing to either return to their shops or travel to another town. Although the day was young, the town was already bustling with activity and Sakura decided to buy an okonomiyaki as breakfast, sitting down on the same bench as the night before to observe the workers take the stalls down.

"How peaceful, ne, Ibiki-san?" she remarked leisurely.

The tall man softly grunted noncommittally, leaning back against the sakura tree, eyes trained on the calm girl sipping some green tea now that she had finished eating. While she wanted nothing more than return to Konoha, she still had a few days to spend here, and she was making the best of it, it seemed. She seemed content, now that she was free of the pudgy lord.

However, the calm and serene morning was disturbed by fearful and pained cries and a crash that made dust rise and flow in the air. Both ninja's eyes swivelled in that direction, seeing, after the dust had settled down, that one of the stalls that were being broken down had collapsed on a worker, trapping most of his torso and legs under heavy beams. The other workers immediately stopped what they were doing and crowded around the place of the disaster, trying to get the injured man out of the rubble.

"Somebody send for a doctor!"

Swiftly, Sakura got to her feet, heading for the crowd; a hand on her arm stopped her in her tracks. She turned an inquisitive gaze to her brooding bodyguard.

"You mean well, but not all civilians are as accepting of ninja, especially kunoichi, as they are in Konoha. This is not a hidden village."

Sakura's lips twisted in a pained grimace that was meant to be a smile. Her eyes betrayed how much it hurt her when people looked down on her because of her chosen profession.

"I know, Ibiki-san, but I can't leave that man there, knowing I could have done something. A civilian doctor would not be able to help him much; he could never walk again."

She took a few steps, stopped, and thanked him heartily.

"I'm glad you were the one chosen to accompany me, you know."

She left him standing there, running to the site of the tragedy, and elbowed her way through. People, however, did not want to give up their vantage point, unwilling to let their eyes stray from the rubble in morbid curiosity. She felt suffocated in the throng of people and annoyance surged from within her at the thoughtless people.

"Hey! Let me through!"

As she fought against the numbskulls, a heavy hand clasped her shoulder, steering her through the now parting crowd toward the center of attention. Her relief at having Ibiki's help quickly abated her annoyance at having accepted help at all.

Next to the half-buried man were other workers who were trying to free him without much success but unwilling to give up. As Sakura approached, they looked up, recognition in their faces.

"What can we do for you, Ambassador?" asked a sturdy man with mild distaste.

"Actually," began Sakura, "it's more what _I_ can do for you. I'm a medic-nin and I can–"

"We don't need help from a ninja," spat another worker. "Especially not from a _kunoichi_."

The man who had just snubbed her suddenly paled before Ibiki's glower as the tall shinobi took a step forward, killing intent rolling off of him.

"You would let your friend die because of your bigotry? Even though that woman could save him and heal him completely without any after-effect? You lot are pathetic."

Shaking her head, Sakura shushed him calmly, telling him that it did not matter to her if they chose to belittle her.

"I will not let your condescension aggravate this man's condition," she affirmed firmly, eyes hard and cold like her tone. "Get out of the way."

With nary an effort, she pulled the beams out of the way one by one, as though they were mere twigs, and forced the workers to keep out of her way as she worked. The injured man was unconscious, which was all the better for her; she did not wish him to see the gruelling sight of his legs at the moment. Frowning, she reached for her medic's apron and took out all the necessary material, aligning everything on a beam next to her.

Over the next hour, she carefully cleaned the wounds and repaired every broken bone. She was careful about not leaving any broken skin and got rid of the internal bleeding, after which she verified his general state and stood up from the crouch she had been in. Levelling a hard gaze at the workers, she told them frigidly, "Now that he only needs some rest to recover, will you get him home or have I _tainted_ him with my kunoichi hands?"

The worker who had first talked to them scratched the back of his head, managing to utter a, "It's alright, we'll take care of him. Thanks for your help."

Sakura's gaze did not become any warmer.

"Thanks coming from people who are grateful only after the help was successful don't mean anything to me."

She wiped her hands on her shorts, gathered her supplies, and motioned for Ibiki to follow her, leaving her parting words to hang in the air long after she was gone.

"If you had truly been thankful for my help, you would have thanked me from the beginning."

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Alright, I know as time went on, this chapter became more and more angsty, but it just turned out that way and I actually like it like that. However, the next chapter is already in the planning and I intend to make it light to counteract this one's gloomy ending.

Sakura: cherry blossom

-dono: Lord/Lady

Dango: a type of sweets

Kimono: traditional Japanese garb

Yukata: short kimono, worn to sleep, after a bath, during the summer or during a festival

Okonomiyaki: a Japanese omelette


	7. Scaring and Scarring a Lord

Wow, has it really been a month since I last updated? It seems hard to believe. Life has not been tender for me these last few weeks, but I assure you that I will finish all my stories, no matter what. That being said, do enjoy this chapter, I had such fun writing it. (Is it clear that Lord Toriyama is one of my favourite characters? He's so lovable in his general awkwardness and he's a prime target for both Sakura and Ibiki, ne? Hehehe...)

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Back in her room, Sakura looked at the luxurious decorations with scorn and plopped down on her bed with a sigh without a hint of her natural kunoichi grace.

"You'd think that in such a magnificent room, I'd feel much happier. It's the dream of every girl to feel like a princess, after all. And yet I want nothing more than to get away from this horrible place. I feel so confined, like a caged bird…I need more than beautiful things and jewellery, Ibiki-san! I live for action, exhilaration, and exhaustion! I thrive on helping people and feeling useful for the village, but not like this! Not like a living doll with no intellect!" she seethed, hands fisting in the richly-embroidered covers. "I feel miserable and so _tired_ of this diplomatic mission!"

Ibiki walked in the room calmly, deliberately keeping silent. With the young woman's explosive temper, it would be unwise to unwittingly irritate her and give her a chance to blow her fuse. Unlike in Konoha, her outbursts would probably end up destroying part of the village instead of a training ground or two. Or three, he amended mentally, seeing small tremors of rage course through her deceptively small frame.

"No ninja likes to be idle, and you especially look like there's too much energy in your body for you to stand still."

"Gah!" screamed Sakura in her pillow, "I need to do _something_! Anything!"

Ibiki toyed idly with a statuette, looking at it uninterestedly, before putting it back in place with a small clack.

"Well, as long as we're here, I'll help you in any way you want that doesn't interfere with your diplomatic duties," he offered.

From the confines of the bed came a muffled musing.

"Anything, huh…"

-:-

Lord Toriyama waited for the maid he had sent to fetch Sakura to come back with the ambassador. He much desired to dine with the beautiful and exotic woman. She excited him in ways he had only imagined possible. He was thus very disgruntled when his mousy maid came back, quivering, and told him with big eyes that the ninja guards had refused to let her enter the ambassador's room. Very unhappy, the pudgy lord got up from his chair and stalked to the rooms he had had prepared for the young woman, looking very much like a silk-ensconced oversized tomato.

As he approached the door, the ANBU guards looked at him with their animal-painted masks, sending a shiver down the short lord's back, but he soon stood a little taller in self-righteous anger and looked right back at them with disdain.

"Open this door, guards," he commanded imperiously, only to redden a bit more as they completely ignored him. He repeated himself tersely, and this time, one of them deigned to answer him.

"No one is allowed to enter, Toriyama-dono," said one of the shinobi categorically.

"What do you mean, 'no one is allowed to enter'?" spluttered the lord.

"Orders of Haruno-sama."

"Well I am the lord of this place and I order you to open this door!"

At that moment, a cry erupted from the room, startling him, yet he was surprised to see that none of the guards rushed in to help the ambassador, nor, now that he thought about it, did they look surprised.

"Are…Aren't you going to step in?" he asked uncertainly.

"Do not interfere, Toriyama-dono," said the same shinobi as before. "It would be very unwise to enter."

"Well, I don't care. Let me in!" exclaimed the angry man, pushing past the guards. If he had thought a bit more about his actions, he would have realized that he should not have been able to get past the guards, especially not that easily.

He barged in, only to stop short at the sight that greeted him. That tall and broad scarred man he hated was handcuffed to the bed, hands above his head and bare feet apart peeking from his black slacks, clad in nothing more other than his usual leather. Above him, leaving no doubt as to what they had been doing, the pinkette, clothed in an opened kimono, back arched and head thrown back, was sitting on him, gasping in pleasure. However, the picture, forever engraved in his mind, was disrupted as soon as he entered, for the young woman's head swivelled in his direction, eyes narrowing to angry, cat-like slits, and her lips curled in displeasure. Her arm moved in a blur, and before he could realize what had happened, he found himself thrown back into the corridor, pinned to the wall by a large number of kunai through his clothes, just barely missing his body. Completely bewildered, the lord, eyes the size of plates, gazed at the guards, who looked very much like they were laughing at him silently. One of them closed the door shut with a snap, and the one who had talked to him before bent down, shaking his head.

"Told ya. You shouldn't have opened that door," he said in a tone semi-sympathetic and semi-mocking. "Be thankful you're not scarred. Well, not physically, at least."

-:-

As it was, the dinner did take place, but it was awkward at best. Lord Toriyama was too shocked and embarrassed to look at Sakura who, on her part, was glaring daggers at him vindictively, yet deep inside her, she was jumping in joy at having made him stay far away from her. That part of her, the sadistic part that enjoyed seeing his discomfort, wanted to smirk like the cat that got the canary and lounge lazily on her bed with the very man she had screwed not two hours ago. He made such a very fine pillow, not to mention she would have to keep him in bed more often. Her body sung with appreciation; she was one happy, satisfied woman. So much so that it was hard for her to not let it show. But then again, the obnoxious little lord _had_ barged in unceremoniously on her time with her man. He deserved every cold shiver that ran down his cowardly back and more.

Next to her, Ibiki was enjoying the show, sensing the satisfaction laced in the aura of the dangerous woman. She looked ready to pounce on the pudgy lord, but there was no mistaking her slouch. She only ever slouched that way when she had had the living daylights screwed out of her.

Fortunately for Lord Toriyama, an arrival soon dispersed the uneasy atmosphere. One of his servants came to warn him that someone wanted to see the ambassador. All too happy for the distraction, the lord indicated for the servant to make the person enter.

Curious, Sakura looked up from her meal, and she exchanged a glance with Ibiki, who quickly took out a kunai under the table while he continued to eat normally with his other hand.

And in entered the man Sakura had gotten out from under the remains of the stall he had been taking down. The man bowed to the lord, then turned to Sakura and bowed to her a bit deeper.

"I heard that you were the one who got me out from under those timbers, Taishi-sama."

Sakura nodded wearily, wondering whether he was going to start cursing her for touching him or thanking her for saving him. Fortunately, she did not have to wait long before the man expanded on the reason for his visit.

"I wanted ta say thanks. Ya know, fer saving me. The guys said that without yar help, I woulda lost my legs. Said that at best, I wouldn't have ever walked again. That true?"

"Hai, it is. You were lucky I was around," answered Sakura steadily, taking a sip of tea.

"Without legs, I woulda lost my job, been unable to feed my family…I owe ya, Taishi-sama."

Sakura put her chopsticks down and looked at the man in the eyes.

"When I became a medic-nin, I swore I would heal everyone I could, without regard to their thoughts about me. Therefore, you don't have to thank me, and it doesn't matter if you don't like me."

The man looked surprised for a moment, before regaining his bearings.

"Ah, yeah, because ya're a ninja…We don' like those much around here, 'cause they always bring trouble, but ya seem like a decent person, an' ya healed me even though my friends musta given ya hell for being a ninja…Well, that gave'em som'thing ta think about, y'know? They ain't exactly frisky 'bout it, but they kinda 'ccept it, an' they said to tell ya that, well, if all ninja from Konoha are like ya, they wouldn' object to the treaty."

_Finally some good news_, thought Sakura happily. With a shark-like grin, she turned to Lord Toriyama and drawled, "Well, well. Looks like even your people want you to sign the treaty, Toryama-dono. I would strongly consider abiding by their wishes if I were a ruler. Do tell me when the document is signed."

-:-

Back on the road, clad in her normal gear, Sakura held the scroll jubilantly in her hands, a somewhat greedy look on her face that, couple with the slightly crazy glint in her eyes, made her ANBU guards stay as far as they could.

"Finally," she muttered, "my hard work has been repaid…My sweat and tears have not gone to waste! Muahahaha!"

Ibiki shook his head, wondering if she was spending too much time with him and Anko. It seemed she was steadily growing more and more sadistic. Not that it was a bad thing. After all, it made for such amusing entertainment, he thought, remembering Lord Toriyama with something akin to fondness. He would have to stop by that delicious little village the next time he was sent on a mission in the area to say hi and thoroughly enjoy his reaction.

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Be amazed, be very amazed! This chapter actually turned out the way I wanted it to be! I love it when chapters are that easy to write. Hey, review, it'll make me happy! Would you be interested in a chapter that would include Anko?

Taishi: ambassador


	8. Pieces and Wholes

Hello, everyone! Hope you didn't wait too long for this update. Read on, and review!

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_Aaah, this is life_, thought Sakura happily, munching on a dango in a quaint little dango shop. And there were minimal chances of Naruto finding her here and annoying the hell out of her. She closed her eyes in satisfaction and sighed, enjoying the rare moment of peace.

Her eyes snapped open at the same time as her hand shot out to grab a wandering wrist.

"Anko-san."

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" replied the older woman cheerfully, as though she hadn't just been caught trying to steal a dango. "Wassup?"

Sakura let her wrist go, allowing the purple-haired to sit down in front of her and leaned her head on her left hand, eyes half-lidded, daring Anko to try to take her dango once again. Fortunately for herself, Anko had enough sense to recognize the stare of a predator and kept her hands firmly to herself, choosing instead to order some herself.

"Well, as you can see, I was trying to get some small measure of peace."

"Hmmhm."

"Alone."

"Hmmhm."

"Anko-san…" she growled warningly.

"Hmmhm?"

"_Why_ are you here?"

Anko leaned back in her chair, observed her for a long moment with scrutinizing eyes, and told her without blinking, "How do you feel about a threesome?"

Sakura promptly choked on her dango. Eyes wide and face red, she observed the other woman who looked calm as a cucumber, wondering whether she had just had an auditory hallucination.

"Excuse me, what?"

"A threesome. You, me, that sexy beast of a taichou I have at the T&I HQ. What do you say?"

Sakura shook her head, taking a dango between two fingers and rolling it, lost in thought. The world was getting crazier and crazier each year. Finally, having stalled long enough, she turned to the anticipating purple-haired woman.

"I'll go with a no."

"Aww, come on! Give it a chance! I guarantee good results!" whined Anko like a four-year-old brat.

"Not a chance, Anko-san. He's mine," replied the pinkette firmly.

"Won't you share him with me just once?" wheedled Anko. "I'll teach you a cool jutsu to gut a prisoner without killing him!"

"Tempting, but no," answered Sakura, closing her eyes as she took a sip of her tea.

"But we would be such a good combo! Pink and purple go hand in hand! And even our personalities are similar! It'd be perfect! Come on, I wanna know how he's in bed!"

"Forget that idea, Anko-san. I'm simply not sharing him. And don't try to henge in me, he'll know right away that it's you."

"Damn," muttered Anko, sulking. She bit down harshly on a dango and observed the younger kunoichi in front of her, trying to find a way to make her agree to her plan.

"What if I–"

"Iie."

"Hey! You don't even know what I was about to say!"

"It's enough to know that it's you who is talking. Thus my refusal."

"That's not fair."

Sakura did not grace the mutter with an answer, choosing instead to finish her plate of dango before Anko decided to try to steal them once again.

The silence stretched on until Anko cried out, unable to take any more, "Please! At least tell me how he is! Does he deliver?"

A gleam appeared in Sakura's viridian eyes; a smirk appeared on her face, making her look like a satisfied cat that got the cream AND the canary.

"Oh, he delivers. He delivers _real_ well…Let me tell you about it…"

The other patrons of the quaint little restaurant promptly left, horrified, as the two feared kunoichi began to laugh and giggle in a crazy manner that could not bode well for anyone. The manager could only envy them as he stayed as far away as possible. He _did not_ want nor needed to know the most imposing man in the village's sex habits.

-:-

Ibiki raised an eyebrow as Anko strolled in his office with a smirk, eyes roving up and down his body appraisingly.

"What?" he asked, already on his guard, fearing the worse.

"I heard some _very_ interesting things about you today," replied Anko in a detached voice, casually sitting on the corner of his desk.

"Such as?" he pried, cursing himself for doing so in the first place.

"Hmmm…Seems you know some "awesome tricks," in the words of a person a know," said Anko, using quotation marks mockingly.

"You spoke to Sakura-san."

It wasn't a question.

"Maybe."

It wasn't an answer.

Yet they both knew what the other meant.

"How much do you know?"

"Enough to make me salivate, not enough to satisfy me. That was barely an appetizer."

Ibiki consciously omitted to look at her, knowing that she was licking her lips in a suggestive manner.

"Looks like you'll have to go hungry."

"Damn it, you know what I want!" complained the irritated kunoichi.

"I take it that it didn't go any better with Sakura-san than it did with me, huh?"

"She was just as stubborn! "We're loyal," "I won't share," yadda yadda yadda! And she told me those stories about you two that made turn me green with envy! It's so not fair! Did you really do it in front of those big-ass windows in the Hokage's office while she was dead drunk? Damn, I wish I'd been there!"

Ibiki ignored her, concentrating on his paperwork as she continued to rant. She would get tired eventually and leave. She had to. Right?

-:-

Finally free of Anko, Sakura headed for the hospital, hurrying once she saw a few shinobi rush above her on the rooftops, carrying one of theirs.

It was a few hours later, hands deep in said shinobi's abdomen, that Ino came to distract her from her task.

"Guess who's here," she said in a sing-song voice, skipping into the operation room.

"Right now, I'd say this poor guy's big intestines," replied Sakura without looking up from her patient as she tried to stop the hemorrhage in and repair said ruptured part of the pallid man on the operation table.

"Oooh, that looks like a bad one," remarked Ino, looking at the blood staining her best friend's clothes. "Wait. Don't digress. Didn't you hear the hush, then the squeals that followed?"

Sakura glanced briefly up at the blonde, looking thoroughly unimpressed and said in a tone that indicated how much she didn't care, "If you didn't notice, I'm busy here, Ino-Pig. Do your recon survey elsewhere."

Ino threw her hands up, rolling her eyes at her down-to-earth friend.

"Well, you've been here for too long already, so _I_ will stay here to finish this, and _you_ will get that blood off of you and brush your hair and touch on your makeup–"

"I don't wear makeup, Pig–"

"Whatever. And you'll go see that scrumptious man of yours and go home for some well-deserved rest and maybe fuck or something. Go. Now!"

Sakura gave a brief smile to her friend and headed for the door, knowing better than to argue.

"Hey! Just a question before you leave me to do your job!"

"Yeah?" she asked, halfway to the door.

"Why him?"

Sakura's smile became blinding, reaching her eyes. Even with all the blood covering her, she looked more happy than Ino had ever seen her.

"Because I love him."

And then she was gone, and the sunshine seemed to be a bit brighter and warmer, and Ino knew that her friend was, at last, pieced back together.

"Morino-san…Who'd have guessed, huh?... … … … …Wonder if he's got a hot brother or something…"

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Well, here it is, the end of this series. I had fun writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it. Look forward to my other works!


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